Skipper Luke Chambers says quick improvements need to be made following Tuesday night’s 1-0 EFL Cup defeat to Stevenage or Ipswich Town will end up being ‘smashed’ at Brentford on Saturday.

Blues boss Mick McCarthy made seven changes to his team following their opening day 4-2 home win over Barnsley, but it was still a largely experienced side that lost to League Two opposition at Portman Road.

“I’m frustrated, disappointed... It was not good enough really,” Chambers told Ipswich Player. “That pretty much sums it up. I don’t really know what else to say.”

Asked what was the difference between Saturday’s win and Tuesday’s defeat, he dryly quipped: “Well Grant Ward didn’t score a hat-trick for a start.”

He continued: “There were too many shots from outside the box when maybe we should have tried that extra pass.

“They scored with the second phase of a set-piece which is something we’ve got to look at. We have got to defend the whole of the way through until the ball is cleared.

“That is very, very frustrating and annoying from our point of view and it needs to be stopped straight away if we want to be successful this season.”

He continued: “Our use of the ball was not up to scratch. I’m not calling anyone out because the lads are different class in terms of the way they work their socks off for this football club. Sometimes we fall short though and tonight was one of those occasions.

“We still had a strong enough side to win the game. Credit to them. They have done a job on us. They kept putting it in behind and making us deal with it.

“We had a lot of shots in the second half, but how many times did they throw their bodies on the line to stop the ball going in the back of the net? We need to have that in our team. We need to take a leaf out of their book in that respect.

“Regardless of the level you play at, or the competition you are playing in, you need to have more desire than the opposition to win a football match. They showed that they wanted it more than us.”

Asked what McCarthy was like in the dressing room afterwards, Chambers said: “He’s obviously not happy. We were due a day off, but no-one deserved a day off after that.

“We need a reaction because if we play like that on Saturday then we will get smashed. We need to look at ourselves, both personally and as a team, and put some things right quickly otherwise it will be a long afternoon.”

Brentford started their season with a 2-1 defeat at Huddersfield and lost 1-0 at Exeter, after extra-time, in the cup on Tuesday.